Kings of War/Tactics/Forces of Nature

Why Play Forces of Nature

UPDATE TO 3rd EDITION, but you are still a hippie Are you a hippie? Do you like shambling but don't want to play undead? Do you have a grab-bag collection of d&d minis sitting around? Do you not give a shit about artillery? If you answered yes, then forces of nature are the force for you.

Army Special Rules

*Creatures of Nature: All units in this army have Pathfinder unless otherwise noted. The new special rule from 3rd edition is Frenzied otter, which you can buy to certain units and it allows you to reroll 3 natural 1 to damage for one use only. Certainly a downgrade. Plus many units lost their pathfinder ability :(

Unit Analysis

Hero

• Centaur Chief: He's only 110 points for a fast cavalry hero with moderate damage output, Inspiring (Centaurs only), and Pathfinder. Being Individual men's he can easily rush enemy War Engines or disorder missile units. He won't win the battle on his own, but is a great addition to a well rounded Nature army. He is also Migthy now.

• Druid: With Inspiring and Heal (2) by default, it's perfect for supporting your battle line. The Druid has access to pretty much all the important spells and is going to be your primary Surge source when fielding Elementals. Now you have two types of Druids. The regular druid, with lower healing and surge abilities but option to go for bane chant and lower points and the gladewalker druid which is more expensive but has greater magic abilities. Both have inspiring.

• Forest Warden: at only 75pts (now 90 points) and not an individual, the warden can act as a speed bump for an enemy unit if nothing else. Less interesting now without the formation but still a worthy choice in low points armies.

• Keris: A walking kitchen sink. Imagine a Druid who took almost all the available spells and you'll have this guy. Fireball(7), Heal(1), Lightning Bolt(2), Surge(8). All he's missing is Bane Chant and Wind Blast. His Solar Staff is unique in that it has a 50% chance to prevent an enemy unit from charging and not able to shoot! Sadly only has the ability to use ONE of all of these spells a turn. Relatively squishy with a 4+ Defense but only has ONE attack. Can also take a cat to throw at the enemy if all else fails. Fairly pricey clocking in at 160 points for a druid with everything but the kitchen sink.

• Naiad Stalker: Speedy with a good melee attack and mediocre defense. Has Crushing Strength(1), Stealthy, Regeneration(4+) and is Inspiring(Naiads only). He's pretty decent in melee but only has 4 attacks. His real benefit is he can get a Harpoon gun that gives him Piercing (1) making him a pain to deal with at a range due to having -2 to hit them(-1 for Stealthy and Individual), making him nigh immune to shooting from a good number of armies. Not to mention that he can just regenerate wounds back. This lets him plink away at a range against units to try and force routs. Decently costed at 90 points base.

• Pegasus: The spell-less horse-like hero. It's like a Winged Unicorn, but doesn't have any spells or Inspiring. Unlike the Unicorn or Winged Unicorn, the Pegasus is one of the few heroes that is ideally suited for the role of "chaff". His 3 attacks are not particularly worrisome for the opponent, but at only 80 points without Individual he is perfect for disordering missile units, removing Thunderous Charge from Knights, chaffing up faster units so your Nature forces can dictate the charges, and hunting down War Engines. Think of them as Gargoyles/Harpies, 2-3 are essential for any Nature army that wants to control the enemy's movement. He is now a Monster, not a character. And the absolute MVP of chaff units.

• Salamander Veteran: Unadulterated beatstick with a relatively low speed and no way to go faster. Crushing Strength(2), Individual and Inspiring(Salamanders Only). Can hit like a truck in melee with 4 attacks but with how Individual works and no way to go faster is sadly pretty low use. Maybe make him a threatening counter charge unit. He can take a cat to throw at people once per game at least and is pretty decently costed at 85 points.

• Shaarlyot: A living legend caster and total Mary Sue. Comes with Fireball (10) and Wind Blast (7) in her spell book. She also has Fly, Individual, and Inspiring, but only 1 attack. She has a speed of 10 though, so she can move out and fire off a spell. Unfortunately she only has a defence of 3+ with no other defensive measures beyond Individual, so expect to lose her quickly if she's in the front where she needs to be to cast effectively. You can also buy her pet Tiffee, which counts as a Wild Companion, for 10 points, but she's already 150 points so it's not looking like an effective use of points already.

• The Green Lady: Not overly expensive, but not very cheap for her role either. The Green Lady will compete with the Winged Unicorn as a support hero. But unlike the Winged Unicorn she has no combat abilities and her only spell is Heal (8). However she easily makes up for this by being much more resilient with Defense 6 and Regeneration (5+).

• Tree Herder: Take this to surge your forest shamblers, inspire your troops and when the time comes wreck your enemies in the face. It's a monster that can take a magic item to increase its face raping power, ideally this item would be the Medallion of Life to increase its already formidable survival abilities by giving it Regeneration (5+).

• Unicorn: The ground based cousin to the Winged Unicorn. This one only has Heal (5) and cannot take any other spells. It still moves 10" and has Thunderous Charge (2) at a reduction of 50 points from it's flying counterpart. Do note that it does not having Inspiring either, which needs to be taken into account when buying one.

• Winged Unicorn: Magical flying unicorns for those from /mlp. Flies and inspiring to all, it also doubles as a caster. They come with Heal (7) by default, but can also buy Bane-Chant, Lightning Bolt, and Wind Blast. They also come with Thunderous Charge (2) and hit in melee on a 3+, making them somewhat of a jack of all trades hero choice. They are really expensive, however, so aren't going to be the choice for everyone.

Infantry

• Hunters of the Wild: Rangers to compliment your wild animals. They have Vanguard, and Pathfinder by default, and a lot of attacks for their unit size. Rush them out at deployment into some terrain and then charge at the enemy on turn one. They'll almost certainly get destroyed early game, but will at a minimum eat up a lot of your opponent's attacks and even possibly demolish some of their front line.

• Naiad Ensnarers: A somewhat weak stat line, but they come with Ensnare, Pathfinder, and Regeneration (4+). They don't hit particularly hard, but they are very survivable and can tar pit most units at bigger sizes with their 50% chance to heal every wound, every movement phase. Solid infantry choice.

• Naiad Heartpiercers: More range oriented Naiads. They trade out Ensnare for harpoon guns with Piercing (1). They hit on a 4+ at ranged, which is better than most ranged units in the game, and still have that Regeneration (4+). Just like their melee cousins, they are a solid infantry choice. As of Clash of Kings 2018, has even more attacks at 10/12! Extremely good at Troop size due to cost effectiveness.

• Salamanders: Dinosaur infantry. These are your elite heavy-hitters, but they interestingly enough aren't as survivable as Naiads. They're the same price as Naiad Ensnarers, trading out Regeneration for Crushing Strength (1), an extra point of nerve, and 2 points of defence. They have the option to increase to Crushing Strength (2) and lose a point of defence. You're better served in this army by taking Naiad Ensnarers.

Large Infantry

• Elementals: The most customization you're going to find in any non-hero unit in this army. They come with Crushing Strength (1), Pathfinder, and Shambling base, but you must turn them into one of four elemental types. These are largely the same as other armies when they get "Air Elementals" or "Fire Elementals," you just have access to all four. Earth get an additional defence. Fire get an additional speed and point of Crushing Strength. Air get speed of 10 and Fly, but lose Crushing Strength altogether. Water gain 2 points of speed and Regeneration (5+).
  • a horde of water elementals gets you something that will waste a lot of your opponent's firepower if he tries to take it off the board
  • Which one you want is going to depend on what you want them to do. Earth is good for tar pits. Fire is good for hitting units hard. Air is a more expensive distraction unit than Forest Shamblers. Water are a more mobile, but also more expensive, tar pit than Earth. Decide which of these roles you want this unit to fulfill and build your unit towards that goal.

• Forest Shamblers: The cheaper large infantry unit that has much less customization than your Elementals. These have mostly the same stat line as Elementals, but add a single point of speed and gain Vanguard. This makes them ideal for jutting out at the beginning of the game to function as a DISTRACTION CARNIFEX. They're actually moderately difficult to kill, meaning you'll probably even get a round of melee combat out of them if you take a horde. Solid choice. Don't forget they come with Pathfinder from the army special rules.

• Woodland Critters (Clash of Kings 2018): Height 0 "Large" Infantry. The cheapest unit in your army and also great at unlocking army slots due to being Regiments or Hordes only but are irregular. Fast for their role but with hideous stats. The only unit I've seen with a 2+ defense stat. They have plenty of attacks and Vicious but with their horrendous nerve and melee you'll be lucky to get a round of combat out of them. Easily a chaff unit and can be upgraded to Fly or have Ensnare.

Cavalry

• Centaur Bray-Hunters: Shooting centaur. They're really low on attacks, but on the flip side of they cost less than most of your infantry. The problem is that Naiad Heartpiercers are better shooters and more survivable, while Centaur Bray-Striders are better cavalry and are cheaper. Not a good choice.

• Centaur Bray-Striders: Medium cavalry that hit on 3+ with CS (1) and TC (1). The few attacks that they do have are quite dangerous, especially when adding in their Pathfinder ability. While they will never fill the role of "knights" in a Nature list (no units available really can) they are definitely not useless. At only 155 points they are quite possibly the most points efficient combat cavalry in the game. Compared to the more expensive Centaur Longmanes in the Herd army, Bray-Striders have the same Melee, Defense, Nerve, CS, TC, & Inspiring. On a points per attack basis the Bray-Striders and Longmanes are identically costed. This means that for every 3 Herd Longmane regiments you can get 4 Nature Bray-Strider regiments that have the same combat output, but 33% more nerve on account of the extra regiment fielded. Bray-Striders don't have Nimble, but with their low cost can be fielded in larger numbers that make then more capable of surrounding the enemy and gaining flank charges that will double their combat power. Don't take 2 like you would Knights, take 4+ and saturate the field with numerous units so that the enemy can't easily match them 1-for-1.

Large Cavalry

• Naiad Wyrmriders: Naiads on large sea serpents. They have a better stat line, hitting in melee on a 3+ and an extra point in defense above their foot slogging sisters. They keep Regeneration (4+), but trade out Ensnare or harpoon guns for Crushing Strength (1) and Thunderous Charge (1). Don't forget they also get Pathfinder, so they can easily slither through terrain and not take any penalities on the charge. Very effective at getting to the enemy and destroying them, while still reaping the benefits of their Regeneration.

• Sylph Talonriders: Your eagle riders from the beta list. Don't expect them to take any hits very well with their low defense and no regen. Their ability to fly is what really makes their use different from Naiad Wyrmriders. Fly them over a foe to the flank and turn ninety degrees before opening up with an arrow barrage, forcing your opponent to spin around to face them or risk a rear charge. As of Clash of Kings 2018, now have more attacks at 8/16! Makes them a decent threat at a range at least.

Monsters

• Beast of Nature: fully customizable monster. Kit it out with the option to be vicious with 7 attacks for some respectable fire power. Flying is nice too.

• Greater Elemental: want the best crushing strength in the game? Take the fire flavor. The spell fireball gives you something to do when you are waiting to bash your opponent in the face. Want wind blast 3 for some reason? Try the air elemental. Need to make your opponent work hard to clear a 2"(50mm) square base away? The earth elemental can do that. Need speed on something comparatively though as the earth elemental? Water does that. If you want something so tough that your opponent won't even try to kill it, a tree hearder with the medallion of life is always safe.

• Hydra: Brutal monster that gets stronger the more wounds it has on it. Starts with 5 attacks that hit on a 4+, but for every wound it has on it you gain an extra attack. It routs on a nerve of 17, so there is plenty of potential to expand attacks. It also has Crushing Strength (2) and Regeneration (5+), making it a beast to deal with. Experienced players will probably just ignore it, so you need to force them to respond to it to get the most use from this sea beast.

• Agnih-Bhanu, Greater Fire Elemental (Clash of Kings 2018): Holy hell. Hideously killy character-type monster with a price point to match. Having a breath attack with Piercing(4) and Vicious means that anything left in front of it will melt. In melee he's got a 4+ Melee with 9 attacks, Crushing Strength(4) and Vicious which often results in the exact same result. He has no waver with a Nerve of 19 and a 5+ defense making him pretty durable as well. Interestingly enough he does NOT have Shambling which is nice with his 6 speed but also disappointing for sudden charges. Not that I don't blame them. Will put you back a pretty penny at 260 points.

War Engines

None. Their carbon footprint is too high.

Formations

Formations have been added as of Clash of Kings 2018.

• Boulderguard: Requires 2 Earth Elemental Hordes and 1 Greather Earth Elemental. Pay 30 points to give them all Iron Resolve to make your tarpit units EVEN HARDER to remove due to being fearless.

• The Wild Hunt: Requires 1 Centaur Bray Strider Regiment, 2 Centaur Bray Strider Troops and 1 Centaur Chief. Pay 25 points to give them all Brutal. Given how fast Centaurs are this makes it a bit easier to mop up units with them without needing to deal a whole bunch of damage

Tactics

Their shambling units have good firepower for their cost, but don't over use them. You'll want one or two shambling hordes, but anymore and you'll be forced to waste hero slots to support your shamblers. Druids are soft high value targets for you opponents. They can surge, heal, bane chant and inspire. I can't think of any other way to buff a unit. Protect them.

Combine said shamblers with the new Aura of Heroism spell available for Neutral armies in Clash of Kings 2018 to make them even more unlikely to ever break by giving them Rallying. Combine this spell with the Boulderguard and laugh as your Earth Elementals grind down the enemy army.